After working another long week, (38 hours this time) I finally have a little room to breathe. I've got the next three days off to rest and recuperate, plus I'm taking some time off next week to go laptop shopping with my mom. We've both finally saved up enough money and I am SO excited to be so close to getting myself the laptop I've been wanting for over a year now. :) Plus, after I'm finished purchasing my lovely new Apple, I can start saving up for the other pieces of technology I've been craving, such as an Xbox 360, a new iPod, and of course lots of video games/music to go along with them. *squee* My poor 20-page-long Amazon wishlist has been sadly neglected over the past couple of months! It'll be nice to get back to shortening it.

Also, words do not describe how happy I am that the new Hellboy movie is finally coming out. I saw previews for it last night and I'm still squeeful. Unfortunately I haven't seen any of the other cool movies that have come out this summer, which is just terrible, but such is the danger of working life. (And not having a car) That's OK though, since I think we're going to go see Iron Man next week after laptop shopping has concluded. I'm amazed at how many interesting movies are coming out this year. Last year it seemed like we had hardly anything worth watching and now my list is so long, I can't keep up with it. On the bright side, maybe now we'll go see more movies since I can finally afford to pay for my own ticket, which makes it a little less expensive. (Though not if gas prices keep skyrocketing)

My writing hasn't been going so great, again thanks to my job. I'm so exhausted when I get home that trying to do anything creative is just too much for me to handle. I have managed to do a little work, though, and Episode 3 of Dreamfall is almost finished. I swear it's forthcoming, plus I'm going to use the extra time off this week to see if I can't get Episodes 4 and 5 done as well. No promises, though, because I've also got to spend time on other things, like catching up on chores and another project I've got going that I'm keeping under wraps for the moment.

The job hasn't been that peachy, either. All but a handful of my friends have left. Yesterday is probably the last time I'm going to see one of my best friends there, and it seems my superiors have decided that they just can't be bothered to train me for anything new and different, which means that I get to be a cashier stuck doing the exact same job day in, day out, from now until doomsday. I am not the sort of person who deals well with monotony. Especially not minimum wage monotony that's so exhausting and painful it's keeping me from my real work. Writers: don't quit your day job, but don't let your day job take over your life, either. Mine is dangerously close to doing so, not to mention I've developed a creeping depression because of it. Things will change soon-- I'll make sure of it-- but I am sad that a job I once enjoyed has so quickly turned sour. And I miss my friends. Not all of them are gone, but the ones I was closest to have moved on, and it makes me sad. Bright side: all this emotional turmoil will make for a wonderful story someday.

And that's your window in to the life for Amanda Cales for this week. :) Have a cookie.

Damn. Do I know how to neglect this thing, or what? Heh.

Unfortunately most of the things that are happening to me at the moment I'd either like to keep to myself or share with close friends, so blogging about them publicly seems a little dumb. Suffice it to say I'm exhausted but happy, with increased hours at work, a little more money, and the same friends I've loved hanging out with ever since I started this job. Wednesday is going to be my 7 month anniversary, which isn't as pretty a number as 6 but there you have it. This weekend was awesome for various reasons, some of which involve large amounts of caffeine. (Well. Large for me. Since my sensitivity to caffeine is practically legendary the rest of you would probably laugh at how little I actually consumed, but whatever.)

Recently I've spent entirely too much money on clothing, though who can blame me when one of my favorite shops ever was absolutely bursting with $3, $5, and $7 racks full of adorable tops and jeans? You can't beat getting a great pair of jeans for $7, I don't care who you are. But the fact that my dad got a shiny new laptop and my mom got a shiny new iPod on Saturday, thus totally outstripping me on the technological front, has kind of made me realize I should probably start saving up if I actually want to catch up with the rest of the world and listen to my music on something that doesn't look and feel like a paperweight. On the bright side, I can occasionally borrow my dad's laptop when he isn't using it, which might help my writing productivity. I'm a little behind on my Cool Secret Project, mostly because of work, but I haven't abandoned it by any means so it'll be nice getting back to that.

I also went to my very first play on Saturday, and even though it was a high school production and I got there about forty five minutes late, I enjoyed it anyway. ^_^ One of the boys I know at work was in the play too, so I had a great time cheering him on. Next time I'll try and get there a little earlier so I don't end up camping out on the steps upstairs during the first act... *grin*

And that's pretty much all my news. :) Hope life is treating everyone well these days. It's been good to me the past week.

Lovely day at work today. There's a lot to be said for good weather and the presence of friends. :) I'm thoroughly exhausted, and not really looking forward to tomorrow much, but I'll cope. This week will be pretty light for me--only 20 hours--which is good. It's nice to have a little break every now and then. Plus there's a little camping trip my family has planned in late May to look forward to, as well as my dad's birthday coming up soon. I'm especially excited about the camping, since I've never been before in my life. It's going to be really cool. =D For now, my biggest challenge at home is to keep writing (I've got a new project that I'm very excited about--no details yet but it's going to be fun) without convincing myself that it's no good before I even get started. I've encountered a couple of small plot snares and they've been beating my motivation to a pulp, but I've decided to set them aside for now and fix them later. The answer will come to me, I just have to give myself a chance and not succumb to the urge to head for the hills. Hopefully I'm making the right choice by doing that and I won't end up with another gnarled monstrosity like TSW on my hands. I just can't think straight when it comes to that book. *shudder*

I love being busy. :)

Oh, and before I forget, this is my new favorite thing. These reviews are brilliant and funny and definitely not safe for work. >=D If you like video games at all, check this guy out.

To--*cough* I mean, um, on this 24-hour span of time which I've loosely dubbed "Wednesday", I, uh, did stuff. Yes. I am proud of the stuff I did, though it is hardly blog worthy. Mostly dishes. Loooots of dishes. Some laundry. Some cooking. I have discovered that I have a great love of currants, and have made some truly delicious currant/apple/macadamia nut muffins that I am trying not to snarf down at an unhealthy rate. I also cooked myself some greens for the first time in forever. Turnip greens actually aren't that bad--not nearly as bitter as I expected--though I liked them a lot better once I put them over some yummy basmati rice. So far I haven't been particularly successful in lessening the number of grains I'm consuming, but I have at least upped the numbers of veggies considerably. In fact I feel like pretty much all I ever eat are green things, rice products, spelt toast, and apples. That said, I can think of worse ways to live.

And to--*cough* I mean, um, this 24-hour span of time known generally as "Wednesday" I also WROTE SOMETHING. I know, try not to faint. It wasn't a very big something, but it was the beginning of another short story. (That makes three that I've started now...) I'm not sure if it's going anywhere but it felt good to write it all the same. And it was a pretty good chunk of text, too, if I do say so myself. (Which of course I would be, since I generally am not anybody but myself) I'm hoping I have enough energy and willpower to get into the habit of writing every night I come home after work, with the exception of weekends, naturally, since they are exhausting and I get home very late. (Speaking of which-- one of my favorite baggers is absent tomorrow and I'll only get to see the other one for an hour and 45 minutes! Tragedy! Woe! Sadness! etc. [insert flailing here]) Hopefully I can actually start to make some progress and start FINISHING some things I start and maybe, JUST MAYBE, I can actually make some money off these things. Like, wow. What a concept. *eyeroll* Not to mention it's kind of hard to podcast every week about writing when you're not actually doing any writing. Small but important caveat right there.

OK. It's really cold down here and I hear the call of some of that aforementioned toast. Oh, did I mention I also listened to some more Japanese lessons today? After putting them off for almost a year now? Yup! I did very good today. =D I even tried to listen to a new Italian podcast, but for some reason my brain rejected it utterly. Another day, perhaps. I'll stick with Japanese for now, since I seem to be well suited to it, and try and get my multi-lingual bagger to keep teaching me German. So far I've gotten...um...I think I remember how to say "half", "yes", "thank you", and "good afternoon" and I think I'm pronouncing "good evening" right but I need to double check. Not the world's fastest language course certainly but it's definitely fun. =D I'll have to get him to pick up the pace though since he is abandoning me this spring for YET MORE TRAVEL. CURSE YOU, BOY. (Just kidding. =D)

Ja ne!

Had a lovely day today, though my legs are quite sore from spending most of my breaks standing around at Starbucks talking to the staff. They were worth it though. =D Lovely people, always fun to talk to. Even better, the entire store lost power three times today! It was very windy outside so I think some of the wiring got crossed and we actually were plunged into total blackness several times. It was awesome. I just wish that it had lasted longer, like half an hour instead of just two minutes. :( I want to run around and play in the dark grocery store. =P

Got to see my friends today. They are all well and just as kickass as ever. My day was otherwise totally unremarkable. I've settled into quite a routine down there, which in some ways is good and in others makes things boring if the folks I like aren't around to keep me entertained. Looking forward to Thursday, though. I can't wait to see all the Valentine's Day madness and also we get to wear pink and red shirts if we want! Squee. I get to go in and be PINK. Mwahahaha. And then all the cool V-day stuff will be on sale on Friday so maybe I'll get myself some flowers and balloons, just for kicks. I think this will be the first Valentine's Day that I've even noticed was there in a VERY long time. I wonder what craziness the customers will get up to...

Anyway. That's pretty much all that happened. I'm tired but happy, and finally feeling better. I think my cold is letting go, which means I can get back to doing voice work tomorrow. By this time next week I should be at full strength again. I feel quite kickass at the moment, actually. Today's lovely weather helped-- spring is definitely on its way, and I can't wait. Spring is my favorite season and I'd like to see the effect it has on the customers, too. I think they'll probably be a lot more relaxed and making more small trips in and out instead of constantly putting off shopping and then stocking up on Sunday or Saturday with MASSIVE double wide cart fulls of crap. Anyway, that's my theory, we'll see how it holds up. At any rate I'm looking forward to nicer weather and maybe some more shopping just to make sure I've got enough spring clothes. ;) One can't be too careful, y'know.

Summary: Today was awesome. Life is good. I feel like jumping up and down and giggling for no real reason. Yup. She's baaack...

Episode #21 of the Dead Robots' Society is now available! This one isn't to be missed, people. Our streak of kickass interviews continues when we talk with the almighty Tee Morris, a conversation that was so awesome it couldn't be contained in just one episode. It also inspired me to consider getting a Twitter account...I haven't actually done it yet, but I'm definitely thinking about it...pretty much the only thing stopping me at this point is knowing just how badly addicted I'm going to get to it. So far being sick has given me a good excuse to put it off, but now that I'm starting to feel better, we'll see if I cave this week or not. :)

In other news, the entire world decided to go grocery shopping on Sunday. Still not sure what happened. No snow or bad weather predictions. No major sporting events or holidays. No community gatherings or really any other good reason why every single person in the entire freaking STATE chose to pillage our bread and milk aisles yesterday. Seriously, it looked like a bomb went off in there. Whatever is going on, I'm glad I have today off to recover. I badly needed the break and I can't tell you how nice it is to just stay home and do absolutely nothing, especially after spending hour after hour in a lane backed up with a plethora of really ticked off people. (For some reason almost every single customer was in a terrible mood Sunday. Go figure.) Yesterday did have it's moments, though. All my friends were there, as was my favorite Grumpy Customer. He's not really grumpy anymore but he's always a hoot to talk with anyway. :) My two favorite baggers were there too, which was awesome, and of course the Starbucks employees always make my breaks more interesting. I swear I'm not stopping until every single employee in that store has tried their tea shakers at least once. It is my evil plan. Insert evil laughter here.

Well, it's cold down here and I'm out of things to talk about. I probably won't be blogging much since they've got me working 37 hours this week and I'll be too tired/busy catching up with all the stuff my cold put off. I WILL get that voice work finished if it's the last thing I do. Ja ne.

On the bright side, at least I've gotten this month's cold out of the way. Now I can go on with the rest of February without interruption. XP *sigh* Actually had to call in yesterday. Fever delirium and cashering don't go well together.

Aside from being contagious, things are pretty good for me on a personal level right now, though there are some things going on at work that I'm not entirely pleased about. First and foremost, I seem permanently stuck on the express lane thanks to some new rules they've enacted. Secondly, I don't get to work in the floral department--not even temporarily to make up for the Valentine's Day shortage--because of my "limited availability". (Which of course no one bothered to tell me about until I pestered them for the second time this month) That phrase seems to be coming up more and more lately. When I first took this job my availability was supposedly excellent and delightful and just what they needed. Over the past month though I've heard a lot of not-so subtle comments from my higher ups that indicate they're not too pleased by the fact that I constantly leave "so early". (As if 5pm is early somehow.) I'm pretty annoyed about this because A) my availability is just fine, and B) I REALLY wanted to work in floral for awhile, to see what it was like and if I'd enjoy a transfer. Though at this point they probably wouldn't take me anyway because of my "availability issues". Hmph. I suppose I'll work it out somehow. I'll either quit or eventually transfer into another department...I don't like the idea of quitting, since that would mean leaving my friends behind, but it's always a possibility. Though I already know not to make any career choices when I'm sick. Even though I feel pretty good tonight, every time I feel a little bit under the weather I become extremely displeased with my job and immediately start contemplating jumping ship. Since I'm clearly not in a rational state at times like this, I'm not going to make any important decisions. Still. It annoys me when I don't get what I want. It also annoys me that I had to put off all the important things I had planned this week (such as finishing up voice work for Justin and actually getting caught up on chores) because of another stupid cold. I know I was eventually going to get a kick in the ass for living such a sheltered life, but seriously, a cold every month? Really? Bloody fucking hell.

I know I should be making blog posts more often but honestly I don't have much to talk about. Sure, I could gush about every conversation I've had with my work friends over the past week, but I'm aware that those sorts of things are really only interesting to me. I haven't been writing nearly as much as I should be. I think I'm going to start saving up for a laptop again, (a friend at work suggested a Mac and I think I'm going to follow his advice see as how he is knowledgeable about such things) and maybe that'll help, but most of it's just been laziness. (And being sick. Writing when you're feverish is a bit of a hit and miss proposition.) I've started a new short story that I'm keeping under wraps for the moment, and while I like it, it is difficult to find the time or energy to work on it. Sometimes I get a chance to scribble at work, but honestly it's such a disturbing atmosphere and I'm so busy trying to eat or socialize with my friends during break time that I don't usually get much done. Once again I'm annoyed by the fact that I can only ever see my friends at work. I really wish I had my own car or my own apartment or SOMETHING, but there's no way I could ever afford any of that on my current salary. I guess I'm done being satisfied with this latest life stage, and now I'm ready for the next one. The past few months (as of yesterday I've been working for four months, woohoo!) were great but some of the enjoyment is starting to wear off. That could still be the cold talking but I often find myself wishing I had somewhere to go other than home when my workday is over. Eh. Chalk it up to youthful restlessness, I suppose. Still, though. I'm at that age everybody sighs over and wishes they could get back to, and I'm not really doing anything with it. Is this something I'm going to regret later? Then again who defines what "doing something" with your life is anyway? I don't know. I guess I'll go on as best I can and leave off wondering about the rest. Nothing I can do to change it anyway. Doesn't change the fact I feel like a bit of a hypocrite sometimes, blathering on about being a writer and not actually doing any writing. I've let my old works go and while on the one hand I think that was the right choice, on the other it means that I have to come up with something new to fill the void...and my natural tendency to procrastinate and be distracted by shiny objects is getting in the way of that a little bit. ^_^;;

So yeah. That's my life right now in a nutshell. Sick, trying to save money instead of spending it willy-nilly, still enjoying the company of my friends, and still amazed by the amount of bureaucratic silliness that goes on in the workplaces of America. Oh, and I'm still sort of a writer. Can't forget that bit. *eyeroll*

Today I got word that one of my friends at work has quit. She was another cashier that I actually hadn't mentioned here, which I should have before now because she's a very sweet lady who was kind of my mom at work. :) We gossiped frequently and I'll definitely miss her, but at the same time I know that she wasn't very happy working at my grocery store of choice, so her leaving is probably a good thing. I hope she finds good fortune wherever she ends up. The store will definitely be a little less enjoyable without her there, something which I wish my higher ups would bother to recognize. To them it's probably just the absence of another body. All they'll see is the time they lost and the hole they'll need to fill now, which is a shame. I just hope that the same thing doesn't happen with any of my other work friends. I don't think I could handle that, honestly. They're what makes my job bearable and losing them would probably result in me quitting. Goodness knows little else about my job is any fun. =P Tomorrow is going to be interesting since I'm working 10:30am-2:30pm, which means I'll be hanging out in the store for a good two and a half hours while I wait for my mom to get off work and go home. (I figured sitting around doing nothing at Starbucks was just as good as sitting around in her office doing nothing) At the very least, it'll give me a chance to catch up on my reading. =D I have a certain short story I need to catch up on, especially since I'll be doing some voice work in an audio drama very soon...stay tuned to The Dead Robots Society for details. ^_~

Anyway. Podcasting went well tonight. I hosted for the first time in ages and Graham got to be there! *squee* He'll be joining us more often from now on too, which is even better. We've got some cool interviews lined up and the episode in which I actually get to talk to a writer from Heroes just went up, Episode 19, an interview with the awesomely cool Jesse Alexander. It was unbelievably neat talking to him and I hope we're able to have him on the show again. Did I mention that I got to talk to a writer from Heroes?! Uber-squee! ^_^

Yesterday was a really fun day. My mom and I went clothes shopping and I spent almost $200 buying clothes. What's impressive is that everything I purchased was on sale so I got a lot of stuff for my money, and with all the weight I've lost I needed to find my sizes again. My wardrobe is all big and happy again. =D I also got to spend a whole six hours with my Favorite Weekday Bagger (who probably needs a new codename since he's there as much on the weekends as he is on the weekdays) since he had an eight hour shift that overlapped with mine, and to make the day even better, we also got our breaks together. We had a lot of fun, caused a little trouble, and generally had a good day. I also got to be at the register right next to Starbucks! Mwahaha. I really need to start reigning in my shyness, though. I always kick myself afterwards anyway, so I need to just bite the bullet and be a little more outgoing. (You'd laugh if you met me IRL, since most people describe me as outgoing, but strangely enough the better I get to know people the more awkward I feel when I see them for the first time, especially if any large amount of time has elapsed since we last spoke. It's annoying, and probably makes my friends think I hate them.)

All in all, today was a fantastic day, and I'm looking forward to the rest of this week. I've got an extra day off and a lot of writing, chores, and recording to do. Right now, though, I need to go pack some goodies for lunch tomorrow (I made pizza today! Yum) and put away clothes. Night everybody.

P.S. "Details" is the best album ever. ♥

No, seriously, I do.

Here's proof:



=D

It arrived Saturday evening, and there is not a font big enough to express the amount of squee that filled me the moment I realized that you had actually knitted me something. And included origami. I am deeply touched. Also that chocolate smells fantastic. I regret that I am unable to eat it at the moment since I am sick once again, but as soon as I'm feeling better I'm going to try some. Did I mention how thoroughly you rock, Leah? ♥ I'm going to take the scarf in to work tomorrow and show it off to anyone and everyone who will stand still long enough. Thank you so much!!! ^_^ ♥ ♥

I just have no idea what to write in this blog post, that's all. :)

I guess I haven't been here since...what? The 11th? Crap. Too long. Funnily enough, I've actually been keeping up with my analog journal an on almost daily basis (a half-hearted attempt to make up for my failed stab at embodiment this year, I suspect) but it never occurred to me to come down here and make some notes. Sorry about that. You've all probably been thinking I fell off the edge of the earth or something. ^_^;; As huge, life changing events go, not much has happened. I'm still working as a cashier at my grocery store of employment and putting up with their silliness, and I'm still greatly enjoying the company of my friends there. Unfortunately that's pretty much all I've got going on at the moment, which has made the past couple of days off rather depressing. I'm hoping it's just a combination of the miserable weather and hormones that are making me so cranky and apathetic, but I do suspect that boredom has a lot to do with it as well. I should be writing, but I just can't bring myself to put pen to paper these days. (Or finger to keyboard, in my case) Writing has just been so difficult lately, and on days that I work I'm torn between my desire to rest and spend time with my parents and the desire to get something useful done. Then again my parents and I haven't really been getting along very well lately anyhow so I suppose I should probably just go ahead and hide in the basement and see if I can't get some proper writing done. I said I'd pick it back up after the start of the new year, but I might start sooner than that. I don't know. I feel quite unmoved by just about everything right now, except the idea of spending time in the company friends. Trouble is none of my friends live nearby. How is it all my life I've ended up living in dead, boring neighborhoods full of flaming fundamentalists with no kids? Nothing goes on here. Absolutely nothing. There are no parties, no gatherings, barely any activity at all. Hell, there aren't even any proper street lights. Sometimes I really hate having not gone to public school like everyone else. I feel like I'm being punished and cut off from the rest of humanity for actually trying to mature and grow as a person as opposed to wasting my time with tests and grades and other people's opinions. It's a pretty sad state of affairs when my only chance to interact with my age group is going to work. And don't even get me started on the insanity I encountered when I tried to open a bank account last week. Bloody hell.

Anyway. I hope everybody had a fun holiday and got lots of nice gifts. :) As an atheist today was just another day for me, but I'm always happy when my friends are enjoying themselves and their lives. And from some of the LJ posts I've been seeing, that's exactly what's been happening. ^_^

Oh, and on a slightly more personal note: Hel, darling, we most definitely need to have a long, long phone chat. I've got lots of stuff I want to tell you about and I want to know what's been happening with you too. I'll be home all day tomorrow and any time after 7pm is good for Thursday and Friday. I think I only work 12pm-5pm on Saturday so anytime after 6pm would be good that day. :)